Pentax *ist D Review

Body & Design

As you can see the *ist D has a fairly traditional SLR
design, obviously the shape, size and control layout are pretty much defined
by the *ist film SLR on which it is based. The body material is a tough
plastic (reminds me of that used on the EOS-D60), beneath this is a strong
metal subframe (the body feels very solid). The camera has a functional
design with many external control buttons allowing you to make settings
changes without diving into the menu system. The rear of the camera has
a moulded area for thumb grip which helps with the grip and balance of
the camera.

Side by side

The *ist D is physically smaller than any other lens
interchangeable digital SLR currently available. Interestingly it's the
same height and weight as Canon's new EOS-300D but is not as wide nor
as deep. Comparatively you can see how much bigger the Nikon D100 is than
the *ist D.

Left to right: Nikon D100, Canon EOS-300D,
Pentax *ist D

Camera

Dimensions

Body
weight
(inc. battery & CF)

Canon EOS 300D

142 x 99 x 72 mm (5.6
x 3.9 x 2.8 in)

649 g (1.4 lb)

Pentax *ist D

129 x 95 x 60 mm (5.0
x 3.7 x 2.3 in)

650 g (1.4 lb)

Nikon D100

144 x 116 x 81 mm
(5.7 x 4.6 x 3.2 in)

775 g (1.7 lb)

Fujifilm S2 Pro

142 x 131 x 80 mm
(5.6 x 5.2 x 3.1 in)

870 g (1.9 lb)

Canon EOS 10D

150 x 107 x 75 mm
(5.9 x 4.2 x 3.0 in)

879 g (1.9 lb)

In your hand

The *ist D is nicely balanced and comfortable to hold
thanks to its light weight and thoughtful ergonomic design. That said
the front hand grip is not as deep as some other digital SLR's. Weight
balance is equalized by the batteries being located in the hand grip.

LCD Monitor

The *ist D has a fairly standard 1.8" 118,000 pixel LCD monitor
with a thick protective plastic window but no anti-reflective coating.
In use the screen was bright and relatively easy to see.

The camera's main menu provides fifteen levels (-7 to +7) of brightness
control for the LCD monitor.

Control Panel LCD

The top control panel LCD display provides a wide variety of information
about both photographic and digital settings of the camera. Once nice
touch is the indication of front or rear command dial control of shutter
speed or aperture (both in the example below which was taken in manual
exposure mode). Also note the white balance indicator (the arrow pointing
down to a WB setting). The panel has a green backlight (not very bright
and only from the right) which can be activated by flicking the power
switch to the DOF preview position.

A detailed description of information displayed can be found on the diagram
below.

Viewfinder

The viewfinder eyepiece appears to be slightly larger than that found
on the EOS-10D or Nikon D100 and also seems to have higher magnification,
that is that the actual frame view appears larger. The viewfinder does
have a dioptre adjustment and removable eyepiece, there is no eyepiece
shutter.

The diagram below is exactly to scale (traced from an actual shot through
the eyepiece). The status line along the bottom of the viewfinder shows:
Flash status, AF area, AF lock, Shutter speed, Aperture, AE Lock. Down
the right side is shown an exposure meter with either the current exposure
compensation or meter difference as well as the number of frames remaining.

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